


I'll Send You the Sunset

by flamiefinnigan, TheBeautifulMew



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mall Workers, F/F, F/M, Inspired by Music, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2014-10-10
Packaged: 2018-02-20 16:26:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2435348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamiefinnigan/pseuds/flamiefinnigan, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBeautifulMew/pseuds/TheBeautifulMew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which literally everyone works at the same mall. Or at least goes there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Send You the Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> In which Marco works does not have an obsession with flower crowns, tolerates the punk across the hall, and writes a manga.

"Hey there! Are you here to get your ears pierced?" I smiled encouragingly at a mother and her daughter, who looked about six or seven, walking into the store. I could tell they were here for a piercing; the poor girl looked terrified.

Her mom nudged her a little, and she nodded quickly. I called for Petra to take over the register and ushered them to the tall chair at the front of the store. Her mom helped her climb into the seat.

"So, what's your name?" I asked her.

"Aizely," she said, so quietly I could barely hear her.

"Wow, that's a really pretty name. Are you nervous, Aizely?"

She nodded.

I smiled. "That's okay. I was nervous when I got mine, too." I pointed to my ear lobes.

"You were?"

"Yep. And I'm twenty-three years old. How old are you?"

"Seven."

"See, you're doing this at seven an I bet you aren't as scared as I was." I picked up a stuffed bear previously sitting on the table. "But do you want this guy to hug just in case?"

She scrutinized the bear for a moment before shaking her head.

"You're doing this without the bear? You're even awsomer than I thought!" That got a smile out of her, and her mom chuckled. "So, show me what kind of earrings you want."

Aizely and her mom picked out a relatively cheap pair as I got ready to poke them through her ear. "Excellent choice. Aright, you ready?" She nodded, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.

"Here we go..."

_K-chnk._

Aizely let out a little yelp, holding the sides of the chair in a death grip.

"You're just fine, hon," I said softly. "Almost finished."

_K-chnk._

This time she winced, but made no sound. I stepped back and beamed at her. "All done!" She opened her eyes as I handed her a mirror. "What do you think?"

She held the mirror and grinned. "Pretty!"

I sent Aizely and her mom off with an extra pair of earrings, a coupon for a milkshake at the pretzel place down the hall, and a "Thanks for coming to Claire's!" before taking the counter over from Petra. Mainly because no one else was in the store and I could get away with getting on Instagram behind the register.

As Petra walked past me I pulled myself away from Mikasa's selfie spam and casually put my phone down on the counter, my gaze drifting out the door and across the hall. Apparently, I was not the only one with this same idea, because the guy running the desk at Hot Topic was already looking over here.

I turned around to see if maybe he was looking at something behind me, but unless he had a flower crown fetish (which I definitely do  _not_ , I'll have you know), there was nothing of interest. I turned back to face him, being sure to make as confused an expression as possible.

Finally, the guy (I think his name was John or something. Like, who names their kid John anymore?) seemed to snap out of a reverie, and he shrugged at me.  _Yeah, man, you go ahead and pretend you weren't doing anything._  I shook my head and narrowed my eyes in a "what are you looking at?" sort of way.

He just shrugged again. This guy was kinda ticking me off, but at the same time, he amused me. I mean, in an I'm-on-work-and-I've-got-nothing-to-do way. I was silently thankful we weren't busy.

He propped his elbows up on the counter and peered around a glass shelf of wallets. He pointed at his name tag and then at me.

_Did he just ask what my name was?_

He redirected a customer away from his register to his angry-looking coworker, and I waited for him to look back at me before slowly spelling M-A-R-C-O in the air.

He replied with a smug grin. P-O-L-O. I gave him a look that said " _real_  funny." He laughed and wrote J-E-A-N, accidentally stylizing the E backwards.

"Marco, what are you doing?" Petra asked, joining me at the register.

"Ah, nothing," I said. I glanced back at Hot Topic. "Hey, Petra, who's that?" I tried to indicate the figure behind the register without looking him at the same time Petra was.

"Who?"

"In Hot Topic, the one with the two-toned hair and the horse face."

"Him? I think that's Jean Kirschtein. I've not actually met him. All I know is what Levi's told me. I think he was going out with Ymir." She looked at me curiously. "Why?"

I took note of how she said his name. "Just curious." Zshahn. Frenchy. That made more sense with the spelling. When Petra's back was turned, I looked back at Jean (the name even sounded good in my head). He saw me and tapped his wrist.

Slightly confused, I glanced at my watch and held up a one and a three for one-thirty. Did he not have a clock on him?

Jean shook his head. He pointed to me, then the Hot Topic register, then tapped his wrist again. Oh.  _You. Here. What time?_

I got off in half an hour. I held up a two. He gave me a thumbs up and went back to work, so I pretended to do the same, pulling out my phone again.

The next thirty minutes were dull, to say the least. Petra took care if the only person that came in requiring assistance;  _Which headband goes best with my red hair?_ As the resident redhead, I felt that Petra was more qualified to answer that question. I had almost hoped someone would ask my opinion on their selection of, perhaps, a flower crown, but the poor shelf was left neglected, as usual. And, by the way, this sort of thinking does not fall under 'fetish.' I just happen to be an expert.

When the clock hit two, I waited for Mina to come in before ditching the name tag, slinging my bag over my shoulder, and taking the grueling trek across the hallway. (I wouldn't call that an exaggeration so much as sarcasm.) I could smell chocolate axe before I even walked in the door. I had to admit, it smelled pretty dang good.

"Hey there, freckles." Jean was leaning over the counter, smirking.

"What's your deal?" I said, trying to make sure he could tell I was being playful.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," he said breezily.

"The whole thing with the- you're kidding, right?"

Jean laughed. "What's your number?"

I was taken aback. No explanation? No introduction?

I ended up writing it on the inside of his arm.

He blew on the sharpie writing to dry it. "You don't mind if I text you later, do you?"

"If I did mind, I wouldn't have given you my phone number."

A smile tugged one corner of his mouth upward. "Touché."

I glanced at my watch. "I gotta go. I told my girlfriend I'd meet her at the food court after I got off work."

His eyebrows shot up. "Oh yeah? Who's your girlfriend?"

"Krista Reiss. She works at Justice."

"Huh. Well, later then, Marco."

"Bye, Jean."

I made my way across the mall to the food court, locating Krista talking to Sasha and Connie at the pizza place. I wove through tables and walked up behind Krista, resting my chin on her head.

"Table for two, please," I said.

"What does this look like, a five-star restaurant?" Connie retorted. "You want a pizza or not?"

I laughed. "Hey, do you guys know Jean Kirschtein?"

"Do you  _not_  know Jean Kirschtein?" Sasha asked, turning the question around. "He's infamous."

"Well, I do now. I had the pleasure of meeting him today. Wait- what do you mean, infamous?"

Connie shrugged. "Guy's notorious for being a punk."

"Huh." I recounted my adventure during my shift. All three of my audience members found the story highly amusing. When I finished, Sasha and Connie exchanged glances, Connie muttering something and Sasha nodding vigorously in reply. 

"So, Marco, how's that manga you've been working on?" Krista asked me. 

"You're making a manga?" Sasha said interestedly. 

"Isn't that just a Japanese comic book? Do you even know Japanese?" interjected Connie. 

"it's an  _art,_ " I corrected him. "And I'm polylingual. I do in fact know Japanese."

"What's it about?" Sasha pressed. 

"It's kinda post-apocalyptic, set in the future where there isn't much of the human race left, and there are these huge walls that protect everybody from man-eating giants." 

"That's so cool," she cooed. 

"It's a work in progress," I shrugged. "Hey guys, I'm headed home. Any of you doing anything later?"

They were all busy, which was how it usually was. I was probably the most boring person out of my small group of friends. So I headed home alone, Jean Kirschtein occupying most of my thoughts. 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I know I mentioned something about chocolate axe and if you've read Like a Drum you're probably thinking I stole that but I am NOT implying that Jean WEARS chocolate axe. The actual Hot Topic at my actual mall legitimately smells like chocolate axe. You can still imagine Jean wears it if you wish because I don't plan on contradicting that.


End file.
